Boom Month for Florida Sees Property Market Continue to Strengthen

The Florida property market continued to strengthen again in February, with the average sales price of single homes jumping nearly $8,000 above the figure recorded just a month ago in January, according to the latest data released by Florida Realtors.

The results from the latest report show strong signs that the state’s market is returning to full health following the 2008 housing bust, with a host of results in the housing market surging above those posted just last month.

Both median sale-prices for townhouse-condo properties and single-family homes jumped from the previous month, the former reaching $132,500, $1,500 above January, and the latter reaching $165,000, rising $2,500 above the result posted in the previous month.

These prices, which are accelerating faster than ever, are telling of the market’s boom throughout the last year, with the state-wide median sales price for condo townhouses rising 15.2% year-on-year and the median price for single family homes jumping 10% year-on-year.

The number of closed sales of single-family homes also rose from last month, totalling at 15,286, determining that there was nearly 1,000 more closed sales than in January. While, although less of a jump, the number of condo-townhouses sold in February was over 200 above the figure saw in January, totalling at 7,578.

This number of sales is not the result of a market suffering from a low inventory with investors quickly snapping up properties as they appear on the market, in fact there were 31,268 new single-family homes listed on the market, over 300 more than last month, and a growth of 13.3% year-on-year. While, this month saw more than 15,000 new listings of townhouse-condos as demand continues to correlate directly with supply.

These newly-listed properties continued to have a very short life-span on the market throughout February, with single-family homes only staying on the market for on average 61 days and townhouse-condos staying for a shorter stay of just 58 days. When purchased, those selling the properties almost always received close to their asking price, with the average percent of original list price received hitting 92.4% for single-family homes and 92.5% for condo-townhouses.

Foreclosures also dropped dramatically in February, down 53% from the same time last year and this movement in the market helps see a return to more traditional housing market conditions which is currently driving investor interest.

An Exciting Future

Extremely positive reports from the first two months of 2014 have set Florida on a particularly exciting track for the rest of the year. These early successes have seen predictions from market experts reflect the results seen in recent months, with online real estate expert Zillow predicting that Florida home values will rise 6.3% in the next year.

While the Demand Institute predict the median price for single family homes to increase by 7% between 2012 and 2015 to reach $163,000, and by 23% between 2012 and 2018 to reach a median price of $187,000.

This rise in prices is set to be met with a rise in construction, as builders look to meet the demands of the increasing number of investors looking to capitalize on the market’s continuing positive results. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute are predicting that as many as 110,000 new homes are expected to be built in 2014, determining that Florida will account for every 1 in 10 homes built in the US.

Knight Knox International

Having long been aware of these trends after specialising in the market for a number of years, North West property firm, Knight Knox International launched the Villages in Tallahassee in reaction to the market demands. This community, conveniently located on Florida’s North West Coast contains 95 units and such luxurious amenities as a swimming pool and a volleyball court.

This unique opportunity, along with a host of other opportunities within other markets we specialise, such as the currently booming UK student accommodation market and the UK buy-to-let market, will be available from our stand at A Place in the Sun Live where we look forward to meeting and speaking to a number of discerning investors.